Two young boys entered from outside. One had a stern face, while the other had a playful grin. Both looked young and had delicate features, but their foul language made them unpleasant to behold.

When Yun Chu heard those words, her cheeks immediately turned bright red. She had only dared to speak her mind because she thought Chen's shop was quiet and she hadn't seen anyone when she came in. She never expected to be overheard by a stranger who would laugh out loud in front of her. How could she not be embarrassed?

Upon recognizing them as acquaintances, Shopkeeper Chen quickly smiled obsequiously and said, "Oh dear, what brings you two gentlemen here today? We've just received a new batch of calligraphy and paintings; would you like to take a look?"

Pei Lin laughed and said, "No, no, no, today we're going to buy medical books." He couldn't help but laugh as he said this, and Yun Chu's face turned so red it looked like it could bleed.

Yun Ruoxia wanted to retort, but judging from the two people's demeanor and clothing, she guessed they were not simple, so she suppressed her anger and pulled Yun Ruochun back as well.

"Look at what you're saying! You're apprentices of Ren'an Hall, why would you buy medical books from me? That's like taking off your pants to fart!"

Upon hearing the name Ren'an Hall, Yunling carefully examined the two people in front of her. "You two are the two lazy and slacking apprentices of Elder Zhong from Ren'an Hall?"

"What do you mean by slacking off or being lazy? Don't make things up!"

"It wasn't me who said it, but you guys are never at Ren'an Hall, who knows where you're slacking off."

"Pah, we're out on a medical mission, not slacking off." Pei Lin belatedly realized, "Hey, you know Old Zhong?"

Yunling certainly knew them. She had learned about all the doctors from her employer. Apart from Master Zhong's apprentice, she had met all the other doctors' apprentices, so these two should be Master Zhong's disciples.

"Isn't that obvious? If I didn't know her, would I be able to say it?" But whether he knew her or not was another matter.

Pei Lin was speechless for a moment. Now that he had been recognized, he had to be careful.

Yunling, however, was not so easy to deal with. This person had bullied her elder sister and wanted to remain unscathed. No way!

"Master Zhong also told me that if I ever met his two apprentices, I could ask them to buy me a medical book as a gift."

These words immediately filled the entire bookstore with an air of shamelessness. Shopkeeper Chen simply pursed his lips and remained silent, knowing that he was certain he would sell the medical book today, regardless of who bought it.

Yun Chu and Yun Ruochun felt that Yun Ling's words were too stiff, but they didn't dare to say whether they really meant it or not.

Yun Ruoxia knew best. She and Yun Ling had been to Ren'an Hall many times, but they had never spoken to the doctors there. They were busy seeing patients and were also a bit arrogant. They were not as doting as Yun Ling described. But now that the words had been spoken, what could she do?

“I heard it too, that’s exactly what Professor Zhong said.”

"Hey, you two are trying to scam us, aren't you? Would Old Zhong say such things to outsiders?"

Yunling remained calm and retorted directly, "Why do you always talk nonsense? If Elder Zhong hadn't said it, would I have said it? How can you treat patients with a brain like that? Perhaps you should examine yourself first."

Pei Lin was caught up in Yun Ling's words, feeling both angry and anxious, but also afraid that she was telling the truth. Just thinking about Elder Zhong's punishment made his buttocks ache, so he could only look at Shen Changliu standing to the side.

Shen Changliu knew that his junior brother was always straightforward but had no intention of harming anyone. They were in the wrong first, and regardless of whether Elder Zhong said so, they should compensate that young lady with a medical book.

"Shopkeeper, bring out all the medical books for us to look at."

"Oh dear, what we have here are nothing but simple goods, copies among copies. The only relatively good copy is the 'Compendium of Materia Medica,' which is fairly complete. I wonder if young lady would be interested?"

When Yun Chu saw that the topic had been brought back to her, which Yun Ling had fought for, she didn't hesitate and readily agreed, "That's fine, I'll take the 'Compendium of Materia Medica' and a ream of straw paper."

Shopkeeper Chen exclaimed "Eh!", first cutting a piece of straw paper, then digging out a yellowed notebook from under a pile of calligraphy copybooks, saying with a smile, "We're not like other places here, young lady, please make do with this."

Thank you.

Yun Chu's thank you was ambiguous. After taking the things, she pulled Yun Ling away, and Yun Ruochun and Yun Ruoxia quickly followed, leaving only the three of them looking at each other.

"Shen Lang, look..."

Shopkeeper Chen had calculated everything clearly: the bill for the "Compendium of Materia Medica" should have gone to these two, but the toilet paper was still owed to Yun Chu. However, she had already left, and given today's events, it was uncertain whether she would return. Therefore…

"We'll settle the bill together later."

Upon receiving Shen Changliu's response, Shopkeeper Chen's smile widened even more, and he quickly began promoting calligraphy and paintings to the two of them.

Yun Chu, on the other side, realized that she hadn't paid for the toilet paper earlier. She wanted to go back but was afraid of making a fool of herself again, so she decided to pay the shopkeeper next time she came.

But because of this, she felt that the medical books and papers in her hands were too hot to handle. She took a deep breath and made up her mind. Since others looked down on her, she would show them that the needle in her hands could not only embroider, but also save lives!

**

Because she had to teach Yun Chu to recognize medicinal herbs, Yun Ling rarely stayed in bed like she had last year, even when the weather was cold. Except for the 28th of the month, when Yun Chu had to help Zhang Shi pick beans, she could find a moment to hide under the covers.

But before Yun Ruoxia and Yun Ruochun could invite her to eat ice cream, a series of ghostly wails and howls sounded outside the door, startling her. Little White was tired of hearing them, so it shook its head and curled up back in its own nest. This nest was made by Yun Ling from an old cotton coat, which was warm enough for it to keep its belly warm. More importantly, it still had Yun Ling's scent on it, which made it feel at ease.

Liu stood at the gate with her three daughters-in-law, crying and shouting. How could she not feel wronged when she thought that they had no dishes to offer to their ancestors on such an important day, and when she saw that the third branch of the family wanted to eat fish and meat?

Moreover, because of the debt collection incident involving the underground bank a while ago, they lost Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoliu. Although the debt has been settled, there is still the temple debt to pay.

Although they were mindful of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas and couldn't bring themselves to go door-to-door to collect debts, the interest was just as exorbitant. A while ago, Yun Dazhuang went to repay twenty strings of cash, but who knew it wouldn't even cover the interest? After the New Year, who knows if he'd be owed two hundred or two hundred and fifty strings.

The whole family worked tirelessly, only to end up toiling for others. When would this hardship ever end? The more they thought about it, the more heartbroken they felt, and they burst into tears.

“Grandmother, please don’t blame us. We are also being persecuted. We don’t have enough to eat or wear. If you want to eat, come to my third brother’s place. They have plenty of fish and meat. Even if they don’t care about us, they will still treat you well.”

Yunling was also annoyed by what she heard. Just as she turned around, Yun Ruoxia handed her a small piece of ice, which made her shiver. "Auntie, there's a lot of cursing going on outside, and you still have the mind to eat ice?"

Yun Ruoxia crunched as she deftly gnawed on the ice, saying, "The wicked will be dealt with by the ruthless. We're still just kids, we're no use to them."

As for this ruthless person, it naturally refers to Old Lady Yun.